Balers are commonly used to compress recyclable or waste material such as aluminum cans and the like into bales and then to strap the bales in order to facilitate transportation of the materials. For example, a two ram baler is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,337 to Newsom, entitled "Oversized Bale Release Mechanism for Waste Material Baler." A ram baler of this type generally comprises a hopper for storing and feeding the material to be baled, a charging passageway, and a baling chamber in which the bale is formed. A main compression ram comprising a hydraulic plunger and a platen is operated within the chamber and charging passageway to compress the material into the shape of a bale, and frequently, a smaller ram ejects the bale into the strapping device. Knives or cutting edges may be incorporated in the baler to separate the material in the hopper from the material in the charging passageway.
Ram balers of the type described have many parts that move relative to each other. Because loaded parts are moving against each other, frictional forces tend to wear down various components. It is frequently then found desirable to include linings against different components to provide an element that can be replaced from time to time. For example, the bottom surface of the platen, which rides on the floor of the baling chamber and charging passageway, wears down with use. A wear shoe may be secured to the bottom of the main platen, and the wear shoes replaced from time to time. Wear shoes typically range from 3 to 12 inches wide and are frequently a half inch thick. In the past, when replacement of wear shoes has been necessary, operators have had to substantially remove the main platen from the baler in order to replace the wear shoes. After removing the main platen from the baler, the wear shoes on the bottom of the platen were replaced as well as the liner on the floor. The removal of the main platen from the baler took considerable effort and may have resulted in increased down time for the machine.